Politically incorrect but funny....

Hugleiker Dagsson draws comics and is something of a celebrity in his homeland in Iceland. I discovered his first English translation book 'Should You Be Laughing At This?'last year and he has since released a 2nd collection titled 'Is This Supposed To Be Funny?'.

His cartoons comprise of stick figures doing terrible and questionable activities, dealing with subjects such as murder, arson and incest and making them funny. Yes perhaps I'm a bad person but believe me he makes it funny! Does it make him a bad person and more importantly does it make you a bad person if you find his drawings funny?

Well considering he has been embraced in his homeland, his two books could reveal something about the Icelandic sense of humour. Remember it is dark for virtually nine months of the year with three months of complete sunlight over there. Check out his books 'Should You Be Laughing At This?' and 'Is This Supposed To Be Funny?'

Run your own corporation

Here's a fun game and an idea of how to run your own Mcdonald's from cow to burger. Make sure you go through the tutorial first before you start the game as it is quite a lot to learn.
http://www.kongregate.com/games/molleindustria/mcdonalds-videogame

Our London Town

You've probably seen the billboards and tube posters of the new Nokia Meet London campaign by Wieden and Kennedy. The posters are comprised of photos of real Londoners taken with camera phones with the line 'I chose this person because...'.

The aim is to map London through people rather than the landmarks. On the website www.meet-your-city.com, visitors are encouraged to introduce a friend to the city by uploading a picture and saying why they were chosen. The pics are then put into locations on a map of London and in an exhibition section that is divided by subject such as 'In Love', 'East End Girls' and many more.

It's a great campaign which encourages viewers to participate and interact with it. So if you get a chance check out the website and introduce a friend to the rest of London.

Chilly out!

Over the weekend a record number of people went to the beaches to make sandcastles and eat ice-cream. The temperature was 9 degrees, not exactly a scorcher but I guess there's no stopping us Brits once a bit of sunshine emerges from the dead of winter.
Anyway, I'm hoping spring comes soon as I'm getting a bit bored with the long winter.

Collectables

James Jarvis is an illustrator from London who has made comics and a collection of figures that are inspired by rock stars, wrestlers and teenage youths. I discovered him by accident when I had a go on the toy dispenser machine in Tower records in Tokyo. He had created a series of mini figures called 'teenage deliquents' which were available for 300 yen each, the figure I got was a curly-haired nerd in a skull t-shirt and I've been a fan ever since.

His quirky observations make the figures very likeable and fun. His most popular figure has been the cute gorilla Milo. If you're into collectables look at the available figures on the Amos Toys website: http://www.amostoys.com/

History all around

My friend from Melbourne is in town visiting London for the first time. It was great to catch up and getting to see London/England through fresh eyes as I've been a bit immune to my surroundings of late. I haven't ever been to Oz but found it very cute when she remarked about how 'old' everything looked, even the Greggs pie shop looked 'old'. I guess they don't have many old buildings down under.

Solar technology and other greeness

Currently we are working on a brief for a solar panel technology company and the topic of sustainability for Unilever. It's all very green and topical as it has become increasingly important for us to reduce our carbon footprint. It's interesting to think that all our energy needs can be resolved with solar panels, great.

Did you know that 40% of the carbon emissions are caused by the actions of the individual? So if you're not doing it already, recycle and reuse your carrier bags. Another interesting fact, from June China will be banning the handing out of plastic bags in shops.

The particular target is those extra flimsy bags which are a major source of pollution. A nice paradox considering that China manufactures most of the world's plastic bags. But seriously I hope that this new scheme works out as the pollution in China is getting drastic.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

There's always a lot going on at the Barbican but I think that this should appeal to any movie buff and that's the Stanley Kubrick festival. It starts end of Feb to commemorate the 80th year of the director's birth and the 40th anniversary of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The festival includes all 12 of his feature films and a collection of his short films. There will also be an exhibition of the Stanley Kubrick Archive and work inspired by him courtesy of the London College of Art. It's a great chance to watch the classics such as Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining on the big screen. What's a evening without Jack Nicholson scaring the bejesus out you? Enjoy!